Sharks’ Joe Pavelski proves to be a handful for Knights
SAN JOSE, Calif. — And the San Jose Sharks think William Karlsson is a royal pain to contain?
The Golden Knights have their own issues dealing with Sharks center Joe Pavelski.
His dominant play on faceoffs, his ability to create scoring chances and his penchant for irritating the Knights has made the San Jose captain a key figure heading into Monday’s Game 3 at the SAP Center.
Pavelski had two assists in the Sharks’ 4-3 double-overtime win in Game 2 and leads the team in playoff scoring with seven points (one goal, six assists).
“He’s a warrior,” Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said. “He’s the heartbeat of our team.
“Joe Thornton goes down and we put him as a first-line center even though he hasn’t played center in years, basically. He’s not really built to be a first-line center, but he doesn’t ask any questions. He just jumps in and gets the job done and leads us into a playoff spot when nobody thought we could get there dealing with that type of injury. There’s not much more to say about him and his character than that.”
The Knights are well aware of Pavelski’s presence.
“He’s got such good hand-eye coordination,” said Knights forward Ryan Carpenter, a former teammate of Pavelski. “He tips a lot of pucks. He probably leads the league every year in tips. He battles. He’s strong. He just has a high level of compete and it shows in the faceoff circle.”
In two playoff games against the Knights, Pavelski is 22-15 on faceoffs. Karlsson, who has gone head-to-head against Pavelski often in the series, said it’s a challenge.
“He’s a good player,” Karlsson said. “He plays a full game. He can dish the puck and he can finish himself. He’s very strong on faceoffs. He’s got a strong backhand and he’s very good at it.”
Pavelski said the fact the Sharks were able to finally solve Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury brings added confidence going into Game 3.
“We were down 2-0 and we had a great look early and got that lead,” he said after Saturday’s win. “We want to play with that lead and don’t want to chase in the series all the time. Overall, our competition level and details were better. They still played a good game and it came right down to the end with a few plays and it went our way.”
Defenseman Shea Theodore said the Knights are tying to be aware of Pavelski, but it’s easier said than done.
“He’s a tough guy to play against,” Theodore said. “He’s obviously skilled and talented. But we have to focus on playing as a five-man group and not try and have so many one-on-ones.”
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Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
